The classic 6 to 8 week Southeast Asia itinerary, leg by leg through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, ending with the Indonesia finale. Budgets, visas, pacing, and the best time to go.
Di Asik Travel Editorial7/14/202613 min readThere is a reason the Thailand to Indonesia loop is the backpacking classic that keeps pulling people back. In six to eight weeks you can string together four countries that could not feel more different from one another: the temples and street food of Thailand, the ruins of Cambodia, the coast and cuisine of Vietnam, and then the sheer wild scale of Indonesia to finish. Most people run it as a mostly overland trip through the mainland, then take a short flight south for the grand finale. This guide lays out that route the way we would plan it, leg by leg, with the budgets, the visas, and the pacing that actually works.
We plan trips across Indonesia and work with trusted partners in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, so we help travelers stitch the whole thing together. That is why we put Indonesia at the end: after the temples and cities of the mainland, the reefs of Raja Ampat, the dragons of Komodo, and the volcanoes of Java land differently. It is the crescendo, not the warm-up. If you only have a month and want the tighter version, our Indonesia and Vietnam in one month guide covers the two-country cut of this same trip.
The standard flow runs north to south down the mainland and then jumps to Indonesia. You fly into Bangkok, work your way through Thailand, cross into Cambodia for the ruins, continue into Vietnam and travel its length, then fly from a Vietnamese hub down to Indonesia to finish. You can run it in reverse, but starting in Thailand is easiest: the flights are cheapest, the backpacker infrastructure is the most forgiving, and it eases you in before the bigger logistics of Indonesia at the end.
| Leg | Time to give it | Getting there | The headline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 2 weeks | Fly into Bangkok | Temples, islands, the best street food in Asia |
| Cambodia | 1 week | Bus or flight from Bangkok | Angkor Wat and a slower pace |
| Vietnam | 2 to 3 weeks | Bus or flight from Cambodia | A 1,600 km ribbon of coast, food, and cities |
| Indonesia | 2 weeks | Fly from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi | The big-nature finale: reefs, dragons, volcanoes |
Thailand is where almost everyone starts, and for good reason. It is cheap, easy, endlessly comfortable for a first-timer, and it has the best street food on the continent. Land in Bangkok and give it a few days: the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, the canals, the markets, and food so good and so cheap you will recalibrate what dinner should cost. From there the country splits two ways. Head north to Chiang Mai for temples, mountains, night markets, and elephant sanctuaries, or head south to the islands for the beaches. With two weeks you can do Bangkok plus one of those, comfortably; try to do all three and you will spend the trip on night buses.
For the islands, the Andaman side around Krabi, Railay, and the Phi Phi islands has the dramatic limestone cliffs, while the Gulf side of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao is calmer and cheaper to reach. Koh Tao in particular is one of the cheapest places on Earth to learn to scuba dive, which is worth knowing before Indonesia, where the diving is world-class but pricier. Thailand is the leg to find your travel rhythm on: get a local SIM, learn to love the 7-Eleven toastie, and get comfortable with buses and boats before the trip gets more demanding.
Cross east from Thailand and the tempo drops. Cambodia is poorer, quieter, and more raw than its neighbors, and its centerpiece is one of the great sights of the world: Angkor. Base yourself in Siem Reap and give the temples two or three days, because Angkor is not one building but a sprawling city of them. Watch the sun rise over the reflecting pool at Angkor Wat, lose an afternoon in the tree-strangled ruins of Ta Prohm, and climb the faces of the Bayon. It is genuinely worth the trip on its own.
With the extra days, Phnom Penh gives the country its context. The Killing Fields and the S-21 museum are heavy, essential history that explain modern Cambodia, and they are not to be skipped just because they are hard. If you want to unwind before Vietnam, the southern coast around Kampot, Kep, and the island of Koh Rong offers pepper farms, sleepy river towns, and quiet beaches at a fraction of Thai prices. One week is enough to hit the highlights; two lets you breathe.
Vietnam is long, narrow, and packed, a 1,600 kilometer ribbon of coast, cities, mountains, and some of the best food you will eat anywhere. Most travelers run it end to end, either north to south or south to north, using the cheap internal flights and the sleeper trains and buses to cover the distance. In the north, Hanoi is a whirl of old-quarter streets and coffee culture, the launch pad for a cruise among the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay and for the rice terraces of Sapa near the Chinese border. Give the north a good week. Our Indonesia and Vietnam guide goes deeper on how to combine Vietnam with the Indonesia leg if those two are your priority.
The middle of the country is the sweet spot for many: the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An, the imperial city of Hue, and the beaches and caves in between. The south is faster and hotter, centered on the chaos and energy of Ho Chi Minh City, with the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi tunnels within reach. Whichever end you finish on, that city is your springboard: both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have direct or one-stop flights down to Indonesia, which is where the trip changes gear entirely.
After the mainland, Indonesia hits differently. This is where the trip stops being about cities and temples and becomes about raw nature at a scale nothing else on the route matches. A short flight from Vietnam lands you in a country of 17,000 islands, and two weeks here is the payoff for everything that came before. Most people fly into Bali or Jakarta and use it as a hub. From Bali you are a short hop from the island-hopping routes that define the country: Komodo National Park for the dragons and the pink beaches, the Gili Islands and Lombok for the easy island life, and, if you have the days and the budget, Raja Ampat for the best diving on the planet.
This is the leg where a bit of planning pays off most, because Indonesia is huge and the connections do not forgive a tight schedule. With two weeks you might pair Bali and Komodo, or Java’s volcanoes with a stretch of islands, or go all-in on a diving trip. For how to structure it, our two weeks in Indonesia itinerary lays out the best routes, and the three weeks in Indonesia guide covers it if you can stretch the finale longer. Do not try to see all of Indonesia in a fortnight, though: pick a region or two and go deep, and save the rest for the trip back you will already be planning.
Visas are the admin that catches people out, so sort them leg by leg. Many nationalities get Thailand visa-free or on arrival for a set number of days, Cambodia offers a straightforward e-visa or visa on arrival, and Vietnam has an e-visa most travelers use before flying in. Indonesia offers a visa on arrival for many passports that can be extended once for a longer stay. Every one of these has its own rules and its own clock, so check the current requirement for your passport before each border rather than trusting an old forum post. For the Indonesia leg specifically, our Indonesia visa guide walks through the visa on arrival and the extension.
The mainland legs are famously affordable. Backpacking Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, you can travel comfortably on roughly 35 to 50 dollars a day including dorms or cheap guesthouses, street food, local transport, and the odd tour. Indonesia is a step up on the transport, because inter-island flights, fast boats, and the pricier activities like Komodo trips and diving add real cost, so budget more for the finale. Across the whole 6 to 8 weeks, a lean backpacker can do it for well under a few thousand dollars plus flights, while a mid-range traveler with private rooms and more tours will spend two to three times that. For the Indonesia end specifically, our Indonesia trip cost guide and the Indonesia under 1,000 dollars guide break the numbers down.
The route has one convenient truth: the mainland dry season, roughly November to March, lines up well with a good window for much of Indonesia too. Those months bring the most reliable weather across Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, though Vietnam’s length means the north and south do not always share a season, so check your specific stops. For the Indonesia finale, the dry season of about April to October is ideal for the islands and diving, so a trip that starts on the mainland late in the dry season and finishes in Indonesia early in its dry season threads the needle nicely. If your dates are fixed, plan the legs around the weather rather than forcing a route through a monsoon.
Between the mainland countries, overland is the classic way: cheap buses and sleeper trains cover the borders, and short budget flights save a long day when the distance is punishing. The one leg that is almost always a flight is the jump from Vietnam to Indonesia, which is too far and too watery to do any other way. Within Indonesia, the transport is its own skill, domestic flights, ferries, and fast boats that rarely connect as neatly as a map suggests, which is covered in our how to get around Indonesia guide. The mainland you can wing; the Indonesia finale rewards booking the key connections ahead.
The mainland legs of this trip are easy to improvise, and half the fun is doing exactly that. Indonesia is the one where a little planning turns a good end to the trip into a great one, because the distances are big, the best boats and trips sell out, and the connections have to line up. That is the part we handle. If you are running the Southeast Asia loop and want the Indonesia finale to be the trip of a lifetime, you can plan it with us, or browse our small-group and private trips to see the routes already built. And if you want a head-to-head before you commit, our Indonesia vs Thailand comparison weighs the two ends of this route against each other.
Cover photo: Padar Island, Komodo National Park, by YUS JULIADI via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Asik Travel Editorial
Local travel editors
We write from the islands we sell, with first-hand notes from our guides and operators.
Six to eight weeks is the sweet spot. A rough split is two weeks in Thailand, one in Cambodia, two to three in Vietnam, and two in Indonesia at the end. You can compress it into a month if you fly more and skip the slower stops, but the classic backpacking loop gives each country enough time to breathe.
Last. The overland mainland route through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam eases you in with cheap, easy travel, and Indonesia’s raw nature, the reefs, dragons, and volcanoes, makes a far bigger finale than it does an opener. Practically, you also fly from Vietnam down to Indonesia, so ending there fits the geography.
On the mainland, roughly 35 to 50 dollars a day covers budget travel through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Indonesia costs more because of inter-island flights, boats, and pricier activities like Komodo trips and diving. Over six to eight weeks a lean backpacker can do it for well under a few thousand dollars plus flights; a mid-range traveler will spend two to three times that.
Yes. Buses and sleeper trains connect Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam across land borders, and it is a classic part of the trip. Short budget flights are worth it when a distance would otherwise cost a full day. The one leg that is essentially always a flight is Vietnam to Indonesia, which is too far to do overland.
The mainland dry season, roughly November to March, is best for Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam (though Vietnam’s north and south do not always share a season). For the Indonesia finale, the dry season of about April to October suits the islands and diving. A trip that runs down the mainland late in its dry season and reaches Indonesia early in its dry season lines the weather up well.
Usually some mix of visa-free entry, visas on arrival, and e-visas depending on your passport. Thailand is often visa-free or visa on arrival, Cambodia has an easy e-visa or visa on arrival, Vietnam has an e-visa most travelers arrange in advance, and Indonesia offers a visa on arrival that can be extended once. Check the current rules for your nationality before each border, as they change.
Two weeks is a good target for the finale, enough to pair somewhere like Bali with Komodo, or Java’s volcanoes with a stretch of islands, without rushing. Three weeks lets you add a bigger trip such as Raja Ampat. Indonesia is huge, so go deep in one or two regions rather than trying to see it all.
